Goals from Johan Elmander and Anders Svensson cancelled
out Robbie Keane's opener in Dublin to inflict more woe on Giovanni Trapattoni.
Republic of Ireland's hopes of qualifying for the 2014
World Cup hang by a thread after Giovanni Trapattoni's side suffered a damaging
2-1 defeat to Group C rivals Sweden at the Aviva Stadium on Friday evening.
Robbie Keane's sixtieth international goal had put the
hosts into an early lead after a bright start but Erik Hamren's side were soon
level through Johan Elmander's header before veteran Anders Svensson ghosted
past the home defence shortly after the interval to clinch three crucial points
to enhance their chances of qualification at the expense of their opponents.
Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni, as usual, selected his
side the day before the match and there was no surprise that he stuck to the
traditional 4-4-2 formation which has been become a customary tactic during the
Italian’s reign in charge.
The 74-year-old tactician handed Richard Dunne his first
competitive start in a green jersey since Euro 2012 and it didn’t take the
imposing central defender long to make his presence felt.
Seamus Coleman’s set-piece was headed into the path of
Shane Long by the QPR defender before Martin Olsson did brilliantly to throw
himself on front of the striker’s goal bound effort to deny the hosts inside the
opening minute.
With both sides desperate for the three points on offer,
an open game was expected and it was the Boys in Green who started on the front
foot with some slick passing and movement but were largely restricted to
long-range efforts in the opening exchanges.
Stoke City duo Glenn Whelan and Jon Walters did little to
trouble Andreas Isaksson in the Swedish goal from distance before Sebastian
Larsson’s corner evaded and flew across the face of David Forde’s net at the
other end.
It was Larsson’s former teammate, James McClean who came
closest to breaking the deadlock however. The winger’s attempted cross had
Isaksson frantically back-pedalling and the shot stopper’s blushes were only
spared by the cross-bar.
However, Trapattoni’s side soon got their reward on
twenty-one minutes. Long’s flick-on wasn’t dealt with by Mikael Lustig,
allowing Keane to nip in and bravely flick past the goalkeeper and after seeing
his initial effort come back off the upright, the striker had the composure to
pick himself up and fire home.
That was as good as it got for the hosts as going behind
galvanised their Scandanavian opponents and altered the flow of the game.
The visitors looked for an instant reply as Elmander’s
snapshot tested the handling of Forde before a swift counterattack should have
led to the equaliser but Larsson fluffed his lines and headed wide with the
goal at his mercy.
Trapattoni’s charges didn’t take notice of the warning
signs as Sweden struck level shortly after the half hour mark. Lustig made up
for his poor defensive header which led to Keane’s opener by producing an
inch-perfect cross for Elmander to head home after getting on front of Dunne.
The Norwich City striker went close to scoring his second
just after the break but failed to keep his volley from Martin Olsson’s centre
on-target.
However, Forde was called into action moments later as
Larsson latched onto Albin Ekdal’s perfectly weighted ball but the Millwall
shot stopper was quick off his line to clear the danger.
The visitors were in complete control and hit the front
on 56 minutes when Zlatan Ibrahimovic played a one-two with Svensson before the
37-year-old veteran out paced Glenn Whelan to fire past Forde from a tight
angle.
Trapattoni introduced debutant Anthony Pilkington in an
attempt to get back into the game but not even the Norwich winger nor the
encouragement of the 50,000 capacity crowd could lift the one-dimensional
hosts.
Isaksson’s goal was barely threatened in the final
stages, as Ireland seemed to acknowledge their faith was sealed. Trapattoni’s
side now travel to Vienna on Tuesday to face Austria in a must-win game but
three points may not even be enough as the Italian's reign as manager heads for
it's final stages.
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